Just Along For the Ride
by Idontknowwhatthatmeans32
Summary: Updated version of a story I previously posted called Plus One. NT with my own character thrown in. It's not exactly an original concept, but it's good fun all the same. Now complete!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is a repost of the story I wrote a while back called 'Plus One'. I really should have titled it the same, but I like my new title better, so (shrugs). Only one significant change, bit of a shocker if I do say so myself, but mostly it's the same. If you read Plus One and want to continue on to the other stories that should (no promises) be posted soon, you'll be able to follow along just fine. I'm also going to break it up into chapters this time, just or easier reading (and suspense!). It's still a little choppy in places - sorry about that, but right now, I'm kind of moving ahead with NT2 and the in-between stuff I'm writing. Really long author's note. Sorry about that, and thanks for reading. Enjoy!

"Security! Over here! Security!"

"What do you want? Go away!" Abigail shouted at Ian and Shaw.

"Are you okay?" A passer-by, in her mid twenties, dressed in jeans, sneakers and a dark green sweater, brown hair in a ponytail, increased her pace to reach the blonde woman in evening wear clutching what in the dark almost looked like a rolled-up newspaper.

"This is none of your business." Ian informed her from the van.

"Trust us, you don't want to interfere." Shaw stepped forward menacingly.

"Back off." She said tightly, putting herself between the blonde and the men and shrugging off her backpack. It looked a little ridiculous, the girl, a decent height but built like a distance runner, facing off with a couple of rather large, very broad-shouldered men. Then the driver of the catering truck started shooting at a red van across the street. The two thugs jumped forward, and the stranger lashed out, driving one to his knees.

"Just bring her!" As Ben ducked bullets, Ian swore and pulled back from the fight, clutching his left wrist.

"Not her, idiots." Ian said to the men who held the struggling brunette. One doubled over, elbowed in the stomach, and she jammed the heel of her newly freed hand into the other guy's nose. Shaw grabbed a pot to clobber her on the head. Abigail screamed as her self-appointed protector fell and lay lifeless. Abigail was pulled into the van and Ian snapped at Shaw, who was kicking the fallen girl in the ribs, to get in the truck. Riley got out of the van as Ben climbed back in.

"Riley, what? Riley, Abigail, the Declaration!" he sighed and went to help Riley with the semi-conscious girl (Ben grabbed her bag, as well). They put her in the van and Ben yelled, "Go, go, follow them!" to Riley, who obeyed.

"And just who might you be?" Ian snarled, cradling his wrist. When she didn't answer, he modified his approach. "Why don't you just pass me that document? Then we can all go home." He said as smoothly as possible as Shaw poked at his wrist. Abigail shook her head wordlessly, clutching the Declaration. The van took a couple of sharp turns that sent them flying from one side of the van to the other, then hit something like speed bumps that made everyone grab for something to keep them steady. As the van stabilized, Abigail checked the handle of the back door. The handle popped open as they went around a turn and she flew out the back, grabbing desperately onto the door. The red van that had been the target of the bullets was speeding alongside, but before Abigail could get in, a bus honked and they had to veer away. Ben reached for her and, though the Declaration was snatched by Ian, she made it inside the car and Riley turned the van away from the bullets down a side street.

"Are you all right?" Ben asked the women.

"No! Those lunatics…." Abigail screamed.

"You're not hurt, are you?" The other girl, on her knees and elbows with her head down, grunted.

"You're all lunatics!" Abigail yelled.

"Are you hungry?" The stranger crawled into the passenger seat after another turn sent her sliding into the van wall.

"What?!" Abigail was outraged.

"Are you all right?" Ben asked slowly, as though to someone not quite in possession of a full hand.

"Still a little on edge from being shot at, but I'll be okay. Thanks for asking." Riley shared a look with the passenger, who managed a snort of laughter and a wan smile. "I think she's okay too." He told the other two.

"Yeah, well, I'm not all right. Those men have the Declaration of Independence!" Abigail railed.

"She lost it?" Riley demanded.

"Declaration of _what_?" The stranger turned abruptly, then winced.

"They don't have it." Ben assured everyone, then showed it to Abigail. "See? Okay? Now could you please stop shouting?"

"Is he saying that the Declaration of Independence is in _this van_?" the stranger asked.

"It's a long story." Riley smiled now that Ben had allayed his fears.

"Give me that!" Abigail grabbed for it, oblivious to the other two passengers.

"You're still shouting. It's really starting to annoy." Ben said.

"I'll second that." Said the stranger, still with one hand uselessly clutching at her head. "Of course, the lunatic part sounded pretty accurate too." She muttered. Riley chuckled.

"You'd do well, Dr. Chase, to be a bit more civilized in this instance." Ben continued, oblivious, though Abigail spared a glance to the front.

"If this is the real one, what did they get?" she asked, lowering the volume and pitch of her voice.

"A souvenir. I thought it'd be a good idea to have a duplicate. It turned out I was right."

"Is anyone ever going to explain to me what's going on?" asked the brunette.

"I actually had to pay for the souvenir and the real one, so you owe me 35, plus tax." Ben continued.

"Mean Declaration Lady seems a lot like Ben, but at least I'll have company when we're being ignored." Riley said.

"Happy to oblige. I'm Kara, by the way."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Riley." He took his right hand off the wheel to shake her hand and swerved.

"Watch the road!" Ben and Abigail shouted together.

"Ben's a good guy, just a little obsessed. Of course, he prefers 'passionate'." Riley continued, nonplussed.

"Who wouldn't?"

"Who were those men?" Abigail asked Ben with no appearance of having heard Riley.

"Just the guys we warned you were gonna steal the Declaration." Ben said.

"And you didn't believe us." Riley said in a well practiced I-told-you-so tone.

"Seriously, I'll catch up." Kara said sarcastically. Riley started to bring her up-to date as Ben and Abigail continued talking; stopping to interject into their conversation,

"I'm pretty sure she was swearing, too."

"Pretty impressively." Kara confirmed.

"Well, we probably deserve that." Ben said. Abigail made a visible effort to calm herself, then said,

"There is _not_ a treasure map on the back of the Declaration of Independence."

"A treasure map?" Kara looked askance at Riley as Ben shook the Declaration at Abigail.

"Yeah," he nodded, and finished bringing her up-to-date as Ben and Abigail continued to argue.

"You know what? I take it back. You're not liars. You're insane." Abigail said.

"That's the thanks I get?" Kara addressed the sarcasm to Riley, well accustomed to being ignored.

"You took on a gang of gun-wielding thugs for some random stranger on the street. Uh, yeah, I'd put that well into white-coat territory." Riley said.

"I'm sorry." Abigail said. "You were very kind to do that. Thank you. I'm Abby, Dr. Abigail Chase."

"And I'm Ben Gates." The guy in the tux introduced himself.

"You know, we stole this for a good cause, too, Abby." Riley said. Seeing her expression in the rearview mirror, he said. " Okay, _Dr. Chase_, but until we find the treasure and make it public, the Declaration won't be safe because Ian'll still be after it and after he's found it, he'll destroy it."

"You can't _seriously_ intend to run chemical tests on the Declaration of Independence in the back of amoving van." Abby said.

"Okay, the jury's still out on the treasure map thing, but I vote with her on this one."

"What makes you think you get a vote?" Riley asked. "I've been searching for the treasure for, like, a year and I _still_ don't have a vote."

"I tried to defend a complete stranger in evening wear from half a dozen gun-toting ruffians with my bare hands. I currently have at least a mild concussion and severe bruising spreading over my ribcage,"

"I got blown up and abandoned in the middle of the Arctic."

"Shut up." Abby ordered. He pouted.

"We have a clean-room environment all set up. EDS suits, a particulate air filtration system, the whole shebang." He told her resentfully.

"Really?" She sounded impressed.

"We can't go back there."

"What? Why not?" Riley asked. Ben told them.

"A credit card slip? Dude, we're on the grid. They're gonna have your records from forever. They're gonna have my records from forever!" He wailed.

"How do they know you're involved in the theft?" Kara asked. Riley brightened slightly.

"I know. I know. It's only a matter of minutes before the FBI shows up at my front door." Ben ignored Kara.

"What do we do?"

"We need those letters."

"What letters?" asked both women.

"Get off the road, take a right." Ben ordered.

"What letters?"

I don't hold chapters hostage for reviews. I'll try to post a chapter every day. That said, reviews are wonderful motivators.


	2. Chapter 2

…"We need those letters

…"We need those letters."

"What letters?" asked both women.

"Get off the road, take a right." Ben ordered.

"What letters?"

"You have the original Silence Dogood letters? Did you steal those, too?" Abigail asked, sitting on the edge of the van. She and Ben argued back and forth until Ben put the Declaration in her hands.

"Can't you do something?" she hissed at Kara as the two men argued about what to do.

"Your turn." Kara mumbled.

"…Yeah, but I didn't think I was going to have to personally tell my dad about it." Ben said.

"Oh God." Kara groaned, getting out of the opposite door. Ben and Riley turned as Kara threw up for the first of several times behind the van. Abby choose this moment to make a run for it. Ben caught Abby and Abby demanded that she come with them.

"You – uh, are you okay?" Riley leaned out the window to ask Kara, who was leaning over, hands on her knees.

"Ughh. Water." She croaked.

"Oh. Um – one sec,"

"Bag."

"Here. Got it." He got out to hand it to her. Abby and Ben were still arguing. She rinsed her mouth out twice and then stood up and moved away.

"Thanks."

"You know, I think nausea's a bad sign after head injuries. You should probably go to a hospital or something."

"It's not the head injury. It's just been a long time since I broke a bone. I'd blocked out how sickening it is."

"Oh." Riley thought for a moment. "How do you know all that?"

"My dad made me start martial arts when I was twelve. I think he hoped it would make me more assertive. I was never into it until," she broke off, looking at the ground in front of her shoes. "Well, until I was fifteen."

"What happened?"

She shrugged. "Just not a great time in my life. This guy said something one day – he was a jerk, and I broke his nose. And his wrist. In two places."

"Wow. So that's why you started liking it?"

"No, that almost made me quit. I spent an hour in the bathroom dry heaving. Then I was suspended for a month. But – it was a great way to work out stress or anger. On a bag, I mean."

"Huh."

"Sorry to interrupt, but could we maybe get a move on? We're kind of on a schedule here." Ben leaned out the driver's window and forced a smile.

"You know, sarcasm is my thing." Riley said, climbing into the back of the van. "I mean, he gets to be the cool history buff know-it-all slash rugged adventurer." He grumbled the latter to Kara, who climbed in after him.

"Yeah, but you've got better hair."

"I like you."

After a bickering match about the radio, Ben and Abby rode in stony silence, Ben driving and Abby in the passenger seat. Riley sat in the back (with the Declaration) next to Kara, who curled up on the floor.

"You shouldn't go to sleep with a concussion."

"Maybe not, but after four hours of sleep in a thirty-some hour period, I definitely should go to sleep."

"Na-uhh."

"Shut up."

Abigail said something under her breath in German and Kara snorted.

"You speak German?" Riley asked.

"A little."

"What'd she say?" he asked, and kept asking. After refusing to tell him thirty-seven times, they proceeded to mock him in German (Kara haltingly) until he shut up and sat, arms folded, glaring at the two of them.

"What do we do about her? I've got some duct tape in the back." Riley said, indicating Abby as Ben parked and got out.

"No, that won't be necessary. She won't be any trouble. Promise you won't be any trouble."

"I promise." She rolled her eyes.

"See? She's curious." He grinned triumphantly as she scoffed

"Come on, Kara. Let's go. You gotta come in too." Riley pulled. She swore softly when he bumped her bruised ribs and got up herself.

Ben, with the Declaration slung over his shoulder, rang the bell. Abby stood half a step behind him and to his left, arms wrapped around herself, a little sullen.

"I am _not_ curious." She muttered. Riley and Kara stood behind them, Kara leaning on the nerd.

"Where's the party?" Ben's father asked dryly.

"Uh, well, uh … I'm in a little trouble."

"Is she pregnant?" his father indicated Abby, who first chuckled softly at Ben. A second later her head shot up indignantly. As Ben equivocated, she turned.

"I look pregnant?" she hissed at Riley and Kara. They shook their heads, Kara gingerly. He let them in.

"Dad, I need the Silence Dogood letters. Yeah, it's about the treasure."

"And he dragged you three into this nonsense?"

"Literally." Abby smiled smugly.

"He seemed like the wiser choice … at the time," Kara said as she pulled off her shoes and curled up on the couch. Riley and Abby snorted, but the Gates men were in a world of their own.

"I volunteered." Riley said proudly.

"Well, un-volunteer, before you waste your life." He started in on Riley, who sat down and took a piece of pizza.

"Knock it off, Dad."

"Sure, sure, I know, I'm the family kook. I have a job, a house, health insurance. At least I had your mother, for however brief a time. At least I had you. What do you have? Him?" he indicated Riley, who froze with a slice of lukewarm pizza halfway to his mouth.

"Look, if you just give us the letters, we're gone."

"You disappoint me, Ben." Patrick walked away from his son.

"Well, maybe that's the real Gates family legacy. Sons who disappoint their fathers." Ben followed.

"Hey, come on," Kara sat up.

"Get out. Take your troubles with you." Patrick turned away. Abigail and Kara exchanged looks. Riley stopped eating pizza to look up.

"I found the Charlotte." Said Ben by way of apology.

"_The_ Charlotte? You mean she was a ship?" It was like offering an addict a hit. For a moment, Patrick Gates forgot all his anger and his doubts.

"Yeah, and she was beautiful. It was amazing, Dad."

"And the treasure?"

"No, no. But we found another clue that led us here."

"Yeah, and that'll lead you to another clue. And that's all you'll ever find, is another clue. Don't you get it Ben? I finally figured it out. The legend says that the treasure was buried to keep it from the British. But what really happened was the legend was created to keep the British searching for buried treasure. The treasure is a myth."

"I refuse to believe that." Ben said.

"Well you can believe what you want. You're a grown person. What am I doing? Do what you want, Ben. Do what you want."

"He's probably right. You don't even know if there is another clue." Abigail said, but more gently than she would have twenty minutes ago.

"I know a way that we could find out. And we can find out right now." Ben went to the fridge. Riley pulled Kara up by the elbow.

"What?"

"I need your money."

"Excuse me?"

"We were set up at Ben's apartment. But now we're going to need to do this low-tech, with lemon juice, right?"

"Yeah," Ben waved at him without really listening.

"You need heat." Patrick added.

"Why don't you go to bed, Dad?"

"By now, they're probably running down lists of Ben's family and friends. I'll be on that list. They can call my credit card company or monitor my bank accounts. You have no connection to Ben. Let's go."

"Fine. But there are better ways to start that conversation."

"Why would you put yourself in between a total stranger and half a dozen huge, mean-looking guys with guns?" Riley asked as Kara checked that Ben had brought her backpack and that her wallet was in it.

"I didn't see the guns."

"Would that have changed your mind?"

"Maybe." He was obviously waiting for a more expansive answer. She sighed. "If you see something wrong, you have to do something about it. At least I do."

"That's really wierd." Riley remembered Ben's speech right before this whole crazy thing had been set into motion.

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing." He cracked this time. "Ben says that that's what the you-know-what says."

"And what – you thought Americans had a monopoly on altruism?"

"What? You're not American?"

"I'm Nova Scotian. Canadian."

"I know where Nova Scotia is. Why are you here?"

"There's a sort of conference. I'm a journalist."

"Journalism?"

"Yeah."

"That sounded enthusiastic."

"Well, I get to travel, and write, both of which I love to do."

"But,"

"But – I don't know. I like to write fiction. And my boss is a jerk. I just – I'm not exactly the go-getter type."

"Yeah – I'm just a computer geek." Riley said. She laughed. Then her cell phone rang and a realization hit Kara like a physical thing. She swore as she searched for her phone with shaking fingers.

"Hi, sweetie." Her voice, her face, her body all softened. Riley tried not to watch. "I'm fine. I'm so sorry I forgot to call you. You called my room? Well – um – I have a friend here whose boyfriend broke up with her, and she was a wreck, so we kind of stayed up talking in her room, and I left my cell in my room. I know. I'm sorry! Look, when I get home, we'll spend an entire weekend, just you and me. We don't even have to leave the house if you don't want to. Okay. Okay." She laughed. "I love you. Okay. Say hi to Brendan for me." she laughed again. "I love you, you know that right? I could never forget you, I just forgot to call, okay? Okay. I-," she laughed even harder. "I have to go. Bye." She hung up and looked back at Riley, who was mentally grumbling about the kind of guys who always got girls like Kara.

"So what exactly did you do for a living? Do you do – how do you and Ben finance this?"

"That's where Ian came in." Riley scowled. "I hate that guy." As they bought a hair dryer, a dozen lemons and a spare toothbrush and drove home, he described in great detail all the things Ian had done, down to the most trivial perceived slight.

Kara watched (from the doorway, since Abigail wouldn't let her in the room with coffee) as the numbers were discovered and recorded.

"Will somebody please tell me what these magic numbers mean?" Riley whined.

"It's an Ottendorf cipher." Kara set her coffee cup down and held her empty hands out to show Abigail as she came in to look at the numbers. "You need a key – a newspaper article, or a page in a book, anything as long as the person you're sending the code to has the same thing. And then the numbers are to tell them which letters. See? Page, line, and the number of the letter in that line." The others stared at her.

"Ben and his dad and DL are freaks, but how do you know that?" Riley asked.

"I went through a phase when I was eight or ten when I was a little obsessed with codes. I wrote everything in code. My brother and I," She stopped. "I was really popular with my teachers." She said sarcastically. Riley started to ask another question, but was interrupted.

"I can't believe … all this time, nobody knew what was on the back." Abby mused.

"Back of what?" Patrick asked, and reached for it, then started freaking out. "This is the Declaration of Independence," he wailed.

"Yes, and it's very delicate." Abby gently pulled it out of his hands.

"Dad, I can explain, but I don't have the time. It was necessary. And you saw the cipher." Ben said desperately.

"There were guys with guns who wanted it too – Ben and Riley saved it." Kara interjected.

"You remembered me." Riley said, pleasantly surprised, as Patrick Gates lectured his son.

"You insisted on picking me up. And then you tortured me in the back of the van. Of course I remember you." Kara replied.

"You can't go to sleep when you have a concussion."

"Guys!" Abby said sharply.

"You pulled me into all this." Patrick Gates finished.

"Well, we can't have that." Ben said.

"I've got an idea." Kara spoke up.


	3. Chapter 3

"You know, you should stay here

…"You pulled me into all this." Patrick Gates finished.

"Well, we can't have that." Ben said.

"I've got an idea." Kara spoke up.

"You know, you should stay here." Riley said as they finished with the duct tape.

"Not going to happen." Kara smiled.

"Why? Ab-Dr. Chase won't leave the Declaration, but why do you care? You're not even American, you're not a history maniac, you're not the best friend of a history maniac."

"It's an adventure. I – I made a promise that someday I'd – I would regret doing something, instead of always regretting not doing things." She gave him a bittersweet smile.

"Well, you probably will regret it." Riley said to break the tension of her confession.

She was mostly silent in the car, hitting Riley for acting like a four-year-old, and sipping coffee from a travel mug. She was sitting in the backseat with her feet drawn up and the window down, head and shoulders out the window. The caffeine, the air, and the passage of time had done wonders for her head, and she concluded that her concussion was milder than she had previously thought.

"You should sleep. I'll wake you every hour or so." Ben offered after Abby and Riley had been asleep for a while.

"No thanks. I'm wired." She had been tapping her hand on the car or jiggling her leg or otherwise fidgeting since they got in the car.

"Maybe you should lay off the caffeine." Ben suggested.

"I'm thirty percent water and forty percent coffee. Caffeine is life." She smiled. He dropped it and they were mostly silent until an hour or so later.

"Can we – can you turn off here? I have to go to the bathroom." Kara said tightly. Ben acquiesced and pulled up at a gas station. Kara was out before the car stopped moving. Ben didn't watch her, but instead shook Abigail and Riley awake. Riley went around the side of the gas station where the bathrooms were. Abby went back to sleep. Riley tried the door.

"It's locked." He mumbled sleepily.

"You probably have to get the key from the guy inside." She said. She was pacing, head tilted back.

"Okay." They were back on the road in a couple of minutes, Riley fell back asleep, and Kara didn't speak again until they reached Philadelphia.

Riley and Kara walked from the store to the museum, then she went on a coffee run when she saw the pace this was going to go at. She got back and handed him his cup.

"So, uh," he began, then the kid was back. They sent him off to get the last four letters.

"Vision to see the treasured past … timely shadow … pass and blank." Kara muttered. "Damnit. Riley, come on." They dropped their coffee and ducked behind a low wall, crouching to avoid being seen.

"What are we doing?" Riley mourned his coffee.

"Ian. I saw Ian."

"Great."

"Pass and what, Riley, pass and what?"

"How am I supposed to know?" he looked up again for the kid and saw the bus. "I know what it is!" He grabbed her hand and dragged her off.

"What?"

"It's Pass and Stow. The Liberty Bell!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" she laughed giddily as they ran.

"Why are we running?" Riley asked several blocks later. They stopped.

"The history buffs seem to be able to subsist on nothing but hope and adrenalin, but I need food. How about you?" Riley asked.

"Yes! You go find them – I don't trust myself to read your writing. What do you want – a burger?"

They ended up eating maybe half of their meals on the way to Independence Hall – Ben ate nothing – and then ducked out of the guided tour to sneak up to the actual bell tower. Ben retrieved what turned out to be a sort of glasses and met the others in the signing room, where they saw that the map read "Heere at the Wall" before Kara caught sight of Phil and Powell waiting outside.

"How did they find us?" asked Riley, joining Kara at the window.

"Well, Ian has nearly unlimited resources. And he's smart." Said Ben, helping Abby replace the Declaration in its plastic sheath and hard cover.

"I don't think we can get out of here without being spotted." Said Abby.

"Well, we don't want them to have the Declaration, or the glasses." Ben said. "But we especially don't want them to have them both together."

"So what do we do?" asked Riley.

"We separate the lock from the key." Ben answered. "We're splitting up"

"Good idea." Abby nodded.

"Really?" asked Riley. Splitting up always seemed to be the downfall of heroes in movies – and he was just the sort of Charlie Brown-ish sidekick character who would get caught first.

"I'll take this." Ben said, shouldering the long slim red case. "You keep that." He indicated the Declaration in Abby's hand. "Riley and the glasses can come with me."

"No." everyone turned to look at Kara. "I've got an idea. Give Ben the glasses. Riley, Abby, you wait here for two or three minutes, then go. Ben and I will leave, I'll grab the Declaration case and double back around the building and draw off Broken Nose and FOMCL, and he will 'spot' Tweedles Dumb and Dumber out there and run in the opposite direction."

"I'll get Phil and Powell to chase me and you'll draw off Shaw, Viktor and Ian." Ben said. Kara and Riley looked at each other.

"Didn't I just say that?" she asked, confused. He shrugged.

"You expect me to know what F-O-M-C-L means?" Ben looked to Abigail for support.

"Face Only a Mother Could Love. Duh." Riley said as Abigail choked back laughter despite the gravity of the situation.

"So who is that?"

"_Viktor Shippen_." Riley rolled his eyes at Kara.

"Ian knows Riley's with me, they know Abby was with us at some point. They're going to come in and find them." Ben got back on subject. "Wait – what do we call Ian?"

Kara looked blankly at him. " I don't understand the question."

"What do we call Ian? Tweedle Dee or HOBrFINCl or what?"

Kara turned to Riley. "Why are you looking at me?" he asked. "I don't speak Gates."

"You're his best friend."

"What, so that means I have to understand him and listen to him and stuff? What are we, girls?"

"He means, what nickname do we use when we talk about Ian." Abigail offered.

"Why would we use a nickname?" Kara said slowly after sharing a perplexed look with an equally confused Riley.

"Whatever. You stay here, Riley will come with me."

"No," Kara shook her head.

"Why can't Riley do it?" Abby asked.

"Because." Kara crossed her arms stubbornly.

"Because only a coward suggests a plan that leaves her with the best chance of getting away." Riley said. "But you didn't suggest it. Ben and Abby did."

"But – Ian wants to get me and Ben."

"Why?"

"Because Ben betrayed him and I broke his wrist."

"He was going to steal the-,"

"I meant in his mind. Nobody's a villain in their own mind, so he creates this story where you are the bad guy."

"You took psych, didn't you?" Riley grimaced. "I'm still going. See you in a bit."

Kara felt her lungs burning and the dull ache in her side screaming from the jolt of her feet on the pavement, but she ignored it. Broken Nose was bigger and scarier and was clearing his way through the crowd easier, but she ran every morning, and Abby was keeping up. They ducked into a crowded marketplace, hoping to lose him, and saw another horribly familiar face coming from the other direction as she did. She tried to follow Abby through the crowd but she lost her and saw Shaw, so she split off in another direction. Weaving through the crowd, she didn't see Shaw listen to his walkie-talkie and then break off with a smile. All she knew was that she had somehow lost him.

She took a roundabout route back and started searching for Abby.

"Behind me," Abby said, running almost into her and then grabbing her arm and pulling her away. They turned a corner, and, with a quick look back, jumped over a deli counter to huddle behind it.

"If you're not a steak, you don't belong here." The rather large black woman manning the booth said.

"We're just trying to hide from my ex-husband." Abigail said breathlessly.

"I told you he was a maniac." Kara whispered bitterly.

"Yeah, and now he wants to kill you," Abby spat back. "And me."

"Who? Baldy?"

"Yes." She nodded. Kara looked back carefully.

"Honey, stay as long as you like." She said. "Can I help you? Do you want something?" the woman asked Shaw as Kara fought not to pant.

"Shut up." He said.

"I can see why you left him." The woman said dryly after he had walked away.

"I lost it." Abby said, defeated. "I'm sorry."

"You'd protect that thing with your life. You did the best you could." Kara consoled her. Abby shrugged. "That was why I lost Shaw." Kara said slowly. "So why did he go back to hunting you?"

"Ian can probably find the clues, but he still needs to figure them out. He might not even have the glasses. Either he wants us to tell him how to read the map,"

"Or he wants us to make Ben tell him what it means." The two women shared a moment of silent, gut-wrenching fear, not only for themselves but for Ben and Riley. "Take off your jacket." Kara suddenly said, pulling off her sweater. She shivered when the skin left exposed by her tank top rested against the display fridge behind her. Abby obeyed and passed it to her.

"No, thanks. Here." She took her ponytail out and passed the elastic to Abby. "Put your hair in a bun."

"Why?"

"When you scan the crowd for him, what do you look for?"

"I understand – a bald head and a black sweater. Now we just might look different enough to slip by."

"Right." The large woman obviously thought their conversation was odd, but she held her tongue. They waited another minute or so, then cautiously made their way back to the car. About a block away, her cell rang. She initially ignored it, but then remembered that she had given Riley the number. She retrieved it from her pocket and checked. It was Riley.

"You okay?" she asked, half expecting to hear a British accent.

"Where are you?"

"Are. You. Okay."

"I'm fine. I lost Ben. I'm on my way to the car."

"So are we. We lost it."

"I lost it." Abby corrected her.

"I lost you." Kara put her hand over the phone. "You lost a piece of paper." She uncovered the phone. "We're here. I'm going to go first. Abby will tell you whether or not it's safe in a couple minutes."

"How would Ian know that we switched cars?"

"He wouldn't. But the FBI has probably figured out by now that we took Patrick's car. I'm handing you over now." She passed the phone to Abigail, who nodded.

"I got it."

"Okay. If it's safe I'll meet you around the corner."

"A lot of precautions, isn't it?"

"Despite my recent behaviour, I'm a very cautious person." She shrugged. "I've just got a bad feeling. Go now."

"Okay. I'll see you in a few minutes."

As she walked to the car, she saw someone out of the corner of her eye, so she leaned on it, pretending to admire it.

"Excuse me, miss." She heard behind her, and turned to see a nervous-looking dark haired man in a suit.

"Hi," she felt a sinking feeling in her stomach but covered it up with a bright smile, toying with a piece of her hair. "Is this your car? It's great."

"Um, no, it's not, but we're going to have to ask you to, um, move away from the vehicle."

"Oh my god – is this some sort of stakeout? Like in movies? Oh my god – I totally know who you're looking for! I was walking down the street, totally minding my own business, you know, and this guy comes running around the corner and bangs into me and knocks me down, and I'm lying on the sidewalk and he's yelling at me because he dropped his stupid piece of paper. And I'm like, this is unbelievable, you know?"

"Which way did he go?"

"Um –that way, I think?"

"Let's go." Sadusky ordered, and the other FBI agents started appearing. "You stay and get her story. Have her make a positive identification." He told the dark-haired agent talking to Kara, then left. She kept talking as they were leaving, then as he pulled out the picture of Ben, she saw, to her horror, the real Ben walking up to the car. The agent followed her wide-eyed gaze and, panicked, she hit him before he could reach for his phone.

"Sorry." She winced in sympathy as she kneed him. He doubled over, groaning, and she took off in the direction Ben had disappeared in. She didn't see him when she reached the corner but chose a random direction and kept running. She was 6 blocks away before she found a payphone and called Abby.

"Did they get you?" she asked in a rush, still breathing hard.

"No but I saw them all go by. What happened?"

"Is Ben with you?"

"No. Riley is, though."

"I told them that I saw Ben going north, that he knocked me over. And then they left, all except this one guy, and I saw the real Ben and he saw him, and I'm pretty sure I just assaulted a federal agent."

"You're okay?"

"Yeah, I blindsided him. He never had a chance. Ben was free when I saw him last, but I don't know where he went. He might have run in the exact direction I sent them in."

"He hasn't called me yet. Riley and I will come meet you. Where are you?"

"Hello there." She heard a British accent behind her. She turned, and recognized Ian – as much by the sling and brace on his left wrist as anything else. He reached for the phone with the other hand, which she handed to him reluctantly.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: A bit of a short one, I know, but it's got plenty of sarcasm. And it's the biggest divergence from the movie.

"Hello there." She heard a British accent behind her. She turned, and recognized Ian – as much by the sling and brace on his left wrist as anything else. He reached for the phone with the other hand, which she handed to him reluctantly.

"To whom am I speaking?" He inquired casually. "A pleasure, Dr. Chase. We didn't have much time for introductions last time, did we? You can tell Ben that I have his chivalrous female counterpart." He listened for a moment. "You can also tell him that my wrist is in rather a lot of pain and it's put me in something of a poor mood. He knows how to get in touch with me when he decides that a piece of paper isn't worth her life." He hung up and turned to her. "Shall we?" She looked around, thinking he might be bluffing, but no – there was the large one, and the bald one, at least.

"You'll understand if we don't quite trust you, don't you?" he continued pleasantly as his second-in-command tied her hands.

"I think I'd prefer it if you were a little more … hostile."

"Excuse me?"

"This gentleman charm thing is kinda weird. Wrong. Creepy, a little. I think I'd rather you just acted mad and ruthless."

"Don't tempt me." Shaw said, finishing with a jerk. She surreptitiously tried a little wiggle, but the painfully tight ropes didn't give at all. The SUV parked just behind another and she was pulled out of the backseat and marched to the other car.

"Mr. Gates?"

"They got you too, huh?" he sighed. A large hand forced her head down as she stepped into the car.

"The FBI – they weren't watching the house? What if Ben came back? I mean, they really believed that you were going to do whatever you could to get your son arrested?"

"I play bitter very well." Just then a phone rang and Ian, standing outside awkwardly flipped it open one-handed.

"Dr. Chase," he said warmly before turning and walking away

Abby made a deal with him to break Ben out of FBI , and, of course, Kara's freedom was one of the conditions. As a show of good faith, Abby asked to speak to Kara.

"Mention him." Shaw indicated Patrick Gates. "And I'll shoot you both." The phone was held up to her ear by Ian, and Shaw levelled his gun at her face.

"Abby?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." She looked at Shaw and then Ian. "Abby, Patrick's-." the phone was snapped shut, and Shaw hit her with the pistol. Her neck snapped to the side.

"Wow. You hit like my baby sister." She lied.

"Shaw." Ian stopped him from trying again.

"Now he dies." Shaw turned the gun to Gates.

"No he doesn't." Kara corrected condescendingly, tasting blood. "A dead hostage is worth nothing and Ben will definitely ask about him now. How cooperative do you think he'll be feeling when he realizes that his father's dead?"

"Let her go." Ian ordered.

"But,"

"She's nothing now except a hindrance. Don't touch the old man."

"Old man, is it?" Patrick was spurred on by Kara's defiance. She was right about his value, after all. "I'm not that much older than you, sonny boy, and if I weren't tied up,"

Ian laughed. "An old man against a cripple? You'll pardon me if I fail to see the heroism."

Kara laughed this time. "You _so_ do not want to do this."

"What?"

"He can out-sarcasm you any day of the week. You are just setting yourself up for humiliation. And as much as I would enjoy that," she nodded at Patrick. "It might put a damper on the beacon of sunshine you've been thus far, and I feel that it might have negative repercussions for all involved. And by all involved, I mean the old man and battered young woman you've tied up and, bravely, beaten."

Patrick elbowed her. "If we're accepting the negative repercussions, it's my turn."

"Sorry." Kara shrugged. " I meant it. I just couldn't help it."

"Gag him. And get her out of here."

"Just wait till we've got that treasure." Shaw threatened.

"Promises, promises." She sneered as he cut her loose. He shoved her out of the car, none too gently, and the very small would-be Mafia convoy drove away. She ran, trying to get lost before they could stop around the corner and let someone out to follow her. She couldn't run for long, but found a payphone to call Abby and Riley. She snuck in the back way. The people who worked in the place saw her but didn't comment.

"Oh my god!" Abby cried, drawing shortlived attention.

"What?" Riley turned. "Oh my god!"

"What?"

"You've got a bruise already." Abby traced it gently. "He hit you?"

"Shaw." Riley guessed. She nodded.

"I've got more lip than sense. It's not so bad. The endorphins actually helped with my ribs. Did you tell Ben?"

"Yes. He's on his way. And there is Ian."

"Heere at the Wall."

"Wall Street was,"

"An actual wall," Riley finished. Abby shot him a look. "It was my turn!"

What are we going to do about Mr. Gates?" Kara asked.

"I'm still working that out." Abby confessed as Ben pulled up.

"I don't think we get to decide." Riley said. The two women followed his gaze to the doorway, where three of Ian's men stood.

"You gonna make this hard?" asked Phil.

"Yeah, are you going to make this hard?" asked Riley, elbowing Kara, who winced.

"It's a public place. They have guns." She sighed, "Besides, three of them? After the last twenty-four hours, I probably couldn't beat one of them." She walked towards them, hands linked on the back of her head, like she was cooling out, to show that she meant no harm. They were escorted to the church, where they sat several rows behind Ben and Ian, who were bent over the Declaration. Kara leaned back and then shivered. The church was cool and the wooden pew gave her bare arms goosebumps. Riley pulled off his sweater and handed it to her.

"Thanks." She whispered. They strained to hear what the two men up front were saying. They all spread out to look for Parkington Lane, but Ian's men watched them too closely to hope for an escape. One or two of them might make it out, but not all of them. Once they found it and removed the body,

"Careful no one steps in him."

"Okay. Who wants to go down the creepy tunnel inside the tomb first?"

"Right. McGregor, Viktor, you stay here. And if anyone should come out without me, well … use your imagination."

"Oooh. Now I'm scared." Riley muttered to Kara, who looked white as a sheet.

Ben went, then Ian and Abby and Patrick, then Shaw. Phil motioned for her to go next and she shook her head faintly.

"I – I can't."

"I might get dirty." McGregor said in a mocking falsetto.

"I'm _claustrophobic_."


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Last part! (I hope my one fan enjoys it!)

Phil motioned for her to go next and she shook her head faintly.

"I – I can't."

"I might get dirty." McGregor said in a mocking falsetto.

"I'm _claustrophobic_."

"Yeah, sure you are." She was pushed forward. She felt herself breathing faster and shallower at the mere thought of being in that tunnel.

"Please." She said.

"Come on, guys." Riley said.

"Maybe she's telling the truth." One hesitated. She couldn't tell which.

"You're not the one who's going to be out here waiting for her to try some of that karate crap. She goes in." She was propelled forward. She tried to focus on taking deep, even breaths, looking at the floor directly in front of her hands and inching forward. Her breathing quickly degenerated into something approaching a panic attack. She avoided cars and planes and crowded buses, but could tolerate them. The van actually wasn't that bad. She'd sat half out Ben's father's car window like a dog. Elevators made her sweat, but she forced herself into one at least once a month, just to prove she could do it. Nothing in her daily life prepared her to be here, underground, in a cramped, filthy and dark tunnel carved into the earth.

"I'm right behind you." She heard Riley say, and felt a hand squeeze her ankle. "Come on, It's not much farther."

"Ten seconds and then I start shooting." Shaw yelled from the end of the tunnel. He was out now – it was clear. There was light. She focused on that and started moving forward.

"Eight," Shaw yelled.

"We're coming!" Riley yelled back. "Because dead bodies blocking the tunnel, that wouldn't be a problem." He muttered. She laughed nervously, and then, suddenly, they were out. She turned around and hugged him hard, hiding her face in his shoulder.

"God, this is nauseating." Powell muttered. "Don't you people ever stop?"

"She's claustrophobic." Riley said.

"Oh. That's nice. Let's go!" They followed the others. This tunnel was still oppressive, but she could stand and they could almost walk two abreast, and she could deal with this. They had caught up to the group, who had lit a huge wooden chandelier, before Abby's raised eyebrows made her realize that she was holding Riley's hand.

"Sorry." She said, and dropped it.

"It's okay." He said, like he was going to say something else, then Ian wanted to get going and Patrick protested and he looked away. Then, suddenly, Shaw was crashing through the wooden stairs and everyone was falling. Riley and Kara, scrambling to relative safety, watched as Ben and Abigail swung precariously, and finally let out their breath when Patrick and Ian dropped the rope and Ben was able to swing onto a lower platform.

"I'm so sorry I dropped you. I had to save the Declaration-,"

"Don't be. I would have done the same thing to you." Said Abigail.

"Really?" Ben asked.

"I would have dropped both of you. Freaks." Riley said. Kara punched his shoulder, but he had lightened the moment. Then the dumbwaiter creaked down.

"Get on." Ian said.

"Ian – it's not worth it." Ben said.

"Do you imagine any one of your lives is more valuable to me than Shaw's?" Ian retorted.

"Finding the treasure won't make it any easier." Kara said.

"He won't die for nothing!" Ian insisted.

"Money isn't worth a man's life." She said gently.

"Depends on the man." Riley said, almost as a reflex. Ian pulled out a gun and levelled it at his head.

"Ian," Ben said.

"I didn't mean Shaw – well, he did threaten to shoot me for no good reason, and he kicked Kara, but still, I'm sure he – liked puppies, or – something."

"You can shut up any time now, Riley." Kara said.

"If you shoot him now, it means one less person to use as leverage to get Ben to solve more clues." Abby added.

"Get in." Ian said again, lowering the gun from Riley's head but not putting the safety on. They obeyed.

They reached the empty room at the bottom of the scaffolding. "Well? Where's the treasure?"

"This is it? We came all this way for a dead end?" The boys continued to fight. Kara paced with her eyes on the ground and Abby stood watching all hope for a peaceful end to this fading. Then Powell and Ian were leaving and Patrick finally gave them the clue. Out of the corner of her eye, Kara saw Abby raise her head when Patrick said one lantern. She raised an eyebrow in question and Abby gave a tiny, almost imperceptible nod, a smile apparent in the corners of her eyes. Then Ian left and the Gates men started explaining as they searched for and found the treasure room.

"…We'll just keep looking for it." Patrick assured his son.

"I'm in." Abby said, stepping forward.

"OK." Ben said.

"Not to be Johnny Rain Cloud here, but that's not gonna happen. Because as far as I can see, we're still trapped down here."

"Yeah." Kara sighed.

"Well that's what doesn't make any sense," said Ben "Because the first thing the builders would have done once they got down here was to cut a secondary shaft out for air and in case of cave-ins."

"Right." Said Patrick, searching the walls again. They spread out and Ben found a crevice fit the meerschaum pipe and then, all of a sudden, the wall was moving – and there, on the other side, was the treasure.

"Just like that?"

"Just like that."

"You do know you just handed over your biggest bargaining chip?"

"The Declaration of Independence is not a bargaining chip. Not to me."

"Have a seat. So what's your offer?"

"How about a bribe? Say, uh, ten billion dollars?"

"I take it you found the treasure?'

"It's about five stories beneath your shoes."

"You know, the Templars and the Freemasons believed that the treasure was too great for any one man to have, not even a king. That's why they went to such great lengths to keep it hidden."

"That's right. The Founding Fathers believed the same thing about government. I figure their solution will work for the treasure too."

"Give it to the people?"

"Divide it among the Smithsonian, the Louvre, the Cairo museum… there's thousands of years of world history down there, and it belongs to the world, and everybody in it."

"You really don't understand the concept of a bargaining chip."

"Okay, here's what I want. Dr. Chase gets off completely clean, not even a little Post-it on her service record."

"OK."

"I want the credit for the find to go to the entire Gates family, with the assistance of Mr. Riley Poole, Dr. Chase, and Kara – what's your last name, Kara?"

She came forward. "Mitchell. Why?"

"And what about you?" Sadusky asked Ben.

"I'd really love not to go to prison. I can't even begin to describe to you how much I would love to go to prison."

"Um, I'd like to get in on that, too." Kara stood and walked forward. "That assaulting a federal agent thing, I mean, I'm really sorry about that."

"What?" Sadusky looked genuinely perplexed.

"I'm going to shut up now and stop incriminating myself." Kara turned around.

"That's why you lost Gates, Hendricks?" Sadusky asked.

"Um,"

"That's what you get for laughing at us." Riley smiled smugly.

"Well, this thing is making his career." Kara said sarcastically.

"Someone's got to go to prison, Ben. And while I would love it to be Hendricks," Sadusky trailed off.

"Well, if you've got a helicopter, I think I can help with that." Said Ben.

"Ben's going to go to Boston. Do you want to go?"

"I want to eat. Eat and then sleep and then eat some more and then go to the hospital and get them to check my head and my ribs. And then sleep and then, maybe, I'll start to feel human again. And when I do, I should probably call my boss so he can fire me. I can so not afford to be fired, but right now I just don't have enough energy to be worried."

"You just found the treasure of all treasures and you're worried about making rent?"

"Ben and you found it. I just tagged along."

"Yeah, just saved Abby and the Declaration from Ian and got us all out of Independence Hall alive and saved Ben from getting arrested and crawled through a creepy tunnel behind the tomb and saved me from getting shot by Ian."

"I only tried to save Abby and Ben. Ian got the Declaration, twice - sort of - and Ben did get arrested."

"Whatever. It's the thought that counts, right? Come on. I'm hungry too."

Riley insisted on going to the hospital before they slept. They ate in the waiting room, drawing some strange looks as, between them, they gulped down 2 ice cream sundaes, 4 cheeseburgers, 3 orders of chicken strips, an order of fries, and a grilled cheese sandwich.

"Do you – I mean – I'll wait out here." Riley said when the nurse came to get her.

"OK," Kara twisted the hem of his sweater.

"Actually – can I come with you? I hate hospitals." Riley jumped up.

"Please. Me too." She smiled, looking relieved.

The doctor was a middle aged woman with a friendly smile. Kara took off Riley's sweater and pulled up the tank top to show the bruising up and down the right side of her rib cage. The woman's smile faded and her manner became increasingly frigid.

"Maybe your boyfriend would like to get a cup of coffee?" She suggested gently to Kara as she inspected the lump on her head. Riley shook his head nervously.

"I'm okay."

"How did this happen?" The woman moved between Riley and Kara and took her hands.

"I got hit on the head with a – pot, I think," she looked for confirmation at Riley, who nodded. "And then I fell down, and I might have blacked out for a second or two – I was definitely dazed, and I got kicked a couple of times. And then later, the same guy hit me with his gun. I might have a tooth loose. But, I mean, I'm okay, right? It's not that big a deal."

"It's a very big deal." The woman corrected her.

"Okay, well I'm not saying that it's comfortable or that it's an experience I'd like to repeat, but you're a doctor. I mean – compared to life-threatening or coma-inducing car accidents, or life-altering debilitating illnesses, I'm just saying, in the cosmic scheme of things, me getting hit with a pot is not that big a deal. Relatively speaking."

"No one should have to live with this. It's not your fault."

"Well, I did break his nose, but considering what he was doing – oh my god." Kara stopped, shocked. "This is not what you think at _all_. If it wasn't so serious, this would be laughable – because – well, you have to know him, but I swear. The guys who did this to me are dead or in jail. Probably. Or they will be. They're in Boston, and the feds had a helicopter – I'm rambling."

"We can help you."

"What does she think?" Riley asked.

"She thinks that you did this to me. That I'm a victim of domestic abuse."

"No! I don't think I've ever hit anyone in my life! Okay, there was one time in grade two, but he was way bigger than me and he was picking on this girl and he hit me first. And believe me, he came out better than I did."

"Yeah, I mean, look at him."

"Hey!"

"He would _never_ hit me."

"Well, that doesn't mean that much, since you could beat me up with one hand tied behind your back, but I am definitely very opposed to violence."

"I _swear_." Kara looked the doctor in the eye. "Call the FBI in a day or two. Ask for Agent Sadusky. He'll tell you. Or – it'll probably be on the news, yeah?" Riley nodded. The doctor seemed a little suspicious, but she wrote a prescription for some mild painkillers and let Kara go, recommending that she rest and avoid strenuous activity. They found a hotel and practically collapsed on the bed.

When they woke up they took turns in the shower. Kara was just finishing up and Riley was watching TV and eating room service when there was a knock on the door. It was Ben and Abby, who looked like she'd been doing some shopping.

"Kara?" Abby knocked on the bathroom door.

"Riley! That was fast!" Ben punched him in the shoulder.

"Ow! Actually, the room service kind of lukewarm when it got here."

"So, anything you want to tell me?" Abby asked Kara when she emerged in the new clothes Abby had brought her.

"I was going to thank you. Geez! Give me ten seconds."

"No, not that." Abby waved a hand dismissively.

"What? I don't understand. Aren't you the one with the news? I mean, did you guys get Ian? I'm hungry."

"Kara." Abby took her shoulders and swung her around to face the one bed in the room.

"No,"

"No!" Riley and Kara started to explain at the same time.

"There was one room left, with one bed. We were exhausted,"

"We didn't want to drive to another hotel, so we just,"

"We didn't even get our clothes off. I don't think we even got under the bedcovers."

"I still had my shoes on." Riley pointed at them sort of proudly.

"What?" They looked at each other, then back at Ben and Abby. "So what are you guys doing here?" Kara tried to change the subject.

"We came back. Dad wanted his car, and you guys didn't have a ride."

"I am _not_ driving back to Washington in that tiny little car."

"We could get a convertible." Suggested Riley.

"Ooh, yeah!"

"Oh, come on, with four of us? There'll be no room." Abby objected.

"Who said you were invited?" Riley asked.

"What were the sleeping arrangements like in Boston?" Kara wondered.

"We'll see you back in Washington." Abby said with narrowed eyes, leaving.

"Will we see you together?" Kara yelled after them.

"Yeah, you got it, chief. Thank you. Bye. They want us in Cairo next week for the opening of the exhibit. They're sending a private jet." Riley said the last part bitterly.

"That's fun." Abby said encouragingly.

"Yeah, big whoop. We could have had a whole fleet of private jets. Ten percent, Ben. They offered you ten percent and you turned it down."

"Riley, we've been over this. It was too much. I couldn't accept it."

"I actually still have this splinter that's been festering for three months from an old piece of wood."

"Okay, I'll tell you what. Next time we find a treasure that redefines history for all mankind, you make the call on the finder's fee."

"That's not as funny. What do you care? You got the girl."

"That's true," Abby said.

"That is true." Ben agreed, and they kissed.

"That's right. Rub it in. Enjoy your spoils. While I sit on one percent. One stinkin' percent. Half of one percent, actually. One percent. Unbelievable." He settled into the red Ferrari.

"I'm sorry for your suffering, Riley." Ben said, leaning on the car.

"On that note, Riley – I think there's still the possibility of you getting a girl out of all this." Abby smiled and said.

"She's in Canada." Riley said testily.

"She gets in airplanes, which she hates, and flies all around the world to meet us at these things and then she spends the entire time hiding from the press." Abby reminded him. "I wonder if she's coming to Cairo?" Riley took his attention off the smug Abigail and directed it back at Ben.

"For the record, Ben, I like the house."

"You know, I chose this estate because in 1812 Charles Carroll met…."

"Yeah, someone that did something in history and had fun. Great. Wonderful. Could have had a bigger house." He taunted him as he drove away.

A/N: So Kara and Riley don't exactlt get together. I'm good at stories like that. But it just felt to matched-up if they all got together. I don't expect the same kind of hits as my Bones stories get, that community's much bigger, but is there interest in the follow-ups?


End file.
